Metal can construction and blank for forming same



April 4, 1967 I A. v. SUNDAY METAL CAN CONSTRUCTION AND BLANK FOR FORMING SAME Filed Feb. 17', 1965 Jrk P4 HUM United States Patent Office 3,312,369 Patented Apr. 4, 1967 METAL CAN CONSTRUCTION AND BLANK FOR This invention relates to an improvement in metal can construction and to a blank for forming the same.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved metal can wherein bail-receiving pockets are formed in the side walls integral with the metallic material of the side walls. The invention in volves a method using a preformed blank wherein the bail-receiving pockets are of appproximately the same gauge as the side walls.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a special blank having a zone of thickened material at that level in the can side walls where the bail-receiving pockets are to be formed so as to there provide excess material for deep drawing the pockets as desired.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the essential features will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a can provided with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a developed view of the side wall of the can of FIG. 1 showing the bail-receiving pockets formed therein;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmental sectional views enlarged taken along similarly numbered lines of FIG. 2; while FIG. 6 is a view through a pair of coacting rollers adapted to form the blank of FIG. 5.

Metallic cans of the type which form the subject matter of this invention are often provided with bail-receiving pockets or openings which are commonly separate pieces of material soldered or otherwise affixed to the can side walls and having openings to receive the ends of a bail. This involves extra time, labor and material and does not form as strong a construction as the unitary bail-receiving pockets integral with the side walls as set forth in this invention.

A sheet 10 of suitable material for forming the can is provided as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 with a thickened zone at 1021 which is provided so that extra material is available at the desired locations to form the bail-receiving pockets of this invention. Such pockets as indicated at 11 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, using any deep drawing equipment presently known in this art. Each of the pockets 11 isgenerally V-shape with the vertex upward and each pocket 12 extends inwardly from the outside surface of the side wall 10, or toward the right as viewed in FIG. 4, and then upwardly toward the vertex 11a.

The can as shown in FIG. 1 is then formed bending and there is sufficient spring action in bail 13 to permit the ends 13a to be snapped into the bail-receiving pockets 12 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The blank of FIG. 5 may be formed as shown in FIG. 6 between an upper roll 14 which is completely cylindrical and a lower roll 15 which has a cylindrical portion at 15a and an annular recess at 15b complementary to the thickened portion 10a of FIG. 5. The rolls 14 and 15 are suitably driven at the ends by mechanism well known and the rolls are spaced apart to give the suitable gauge desired at the portion 10 of the planar flat portion of the blank and will then provide the thickened zone 10w as originally described in connection with FIG. 5.

While the thickness of material may be suited to the desired purpose of the can, one form-of my invention utilizes a zone of substantially uniform gauge at 10 of approximately 0.010 inch to 0.013 inch and with the greatest thickness of the zone 10a approximately 0.020 inch to 0.026 inch. This permits the walls of the pocket 11 to be approximately the same gauge as the uniform gauge blank portion indicated at 10.

the side wall 10 to cylindrical form and joining the ends It will be noted in the drawings that the Zone of thicker gauge is parallel to the top edge of the blank and that approximately that level in the blanks for the side wall intended for the reception of the ends of the bail.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a cylindrical side wall of a metal can comprising forming a rectangular metal blank of substantially uniform gauge save for a zone of thicker gauge parallel to the top edge of said blank, deep drawing bail-receiving pockets in said zone V-shape in form with the vertex toward said top edge and extending inwardly and upwardly from one face of said blank while expanding the thicker gauge metal in said zone to provide said pockets of substantially said uniform gauge, and then forming said blank into a cylinder.

2. A metal can having a top, bottom and cylindrical side wall, and bail-receiving pockets in said side wall integral therewith, said pockets being of approximately the same gauge as said side wall, said pockets being generally V-shape with vertex upward, said pockets extending at said vertex inwardly and upwardly from said side wall, and each said pocket extending downwardly and radially outwardly from said vertex to a juncture with said side wall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 241,559 5/1881 Noble 220-91 945,554 1/1910 Lachman 220-91 1,344,125 6/1920 Fulda 113-l20 2,305,374 12/ 1942 Beasley et a1. 22091 3,089,159 5/ 1963 Carlson 72377 3,100,576 8/1963 Frank 22094 FOREIGN PATENTS 349,502 5/ 1931 Great Britain.

182,686 9/ 1905 Germany.

122,046 10/1927 Switzerland.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Examiner. 

2. A METAL CAN HAVING A TOP, BOTTOM AND CYLINDRICAL SIDE WALL, AND BAIL-RECEIVING POCKETS IN SAID SIDE WALL INTEGRAL THEREWITH, SAID POCKETS BEING OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAME GAUGE AS SAID SIDE WALL, SAID POCKETS BEING GENERALLY V-SHAPE WITH VERTEX UPWARD, SAID POCKETS EXTENDING AT SAID VERTEX INWARDLY AND UPWARDLY FROM SAID SIDE WALL, AND EACH SAID POCKET EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID VERTEX TO A JUNCTURE WITH SAID SIDE WALL. 